Glen-L.com

I am in a conundrum. I thought I new what I was going to build until I began looking at all the designs.

I was looking at the Lucky Pierre, but now I am not sure.

I have thought about one of the houseboat designs, or perhaps a Huck Finn with a cabin. I want to travel the river system down to the gulf from the Ohio river and back. Not sure what would be best for this. Plus I have never built a boat before or furniture or anything. I do build custom flintlocks though.

I have even thought of the 23' Harbor Master to make an African Queen type.

Any helpful thoughts?

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Ron
Columbus, Ohio
Life is like a glass of rootbeer;
Let it sit too long and it loses all its fizz.

Hi,how about hunky dory ? its a straight foward build and has a flat bottom .that would be great for the rivers ,sometimes there alot of stuff floating around and you also can put a cabin on it. Happy New Year !

I'll take a look at the Hunky Dory, Thanks!

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Ron
Columbus, Ohio
Life is like a glass of rootbeer;
Let it sit too long and it loses all its fizz.

One of the toughest things about building a boat can be deciding on a design as there is a lot to consider. I think I would first try to decide on the speed range you want to operate. Are you wanting to plane and run at 15 to 30 mph OR would a slower pace of 5 to 12 mph work for you? This will narrow the list somewhat.

The what overall size do you think you would need. With bigger more conveniences and comforts can be included but the trade off is usually fuel economy. Bigger boats usually have bigger engines, plus the additional equipment that adds weight and cost. You don't want to end up with a boat that is too small and cramped for your use but building too big also has downsides like more expense, a more expensive trailer, harder towing, higher slip fees - you get the idea.

Do you have preference as to the type of construction? "Stitch & Glue" provides a fairly quick method of constructing the basic hull and yields a strong boat. The skill level required to build the hull is probably less than any other method but some don't like messing with all the epoxy needed. It can be sloppy - there are 10 year old epoxy drips still on my shop floor! "Frame" construction is a little more involved but still very much with in the capability of the average home do it your self type. Within the "frame" category there are several variations - plywood planked (probably the easiest), strip planking, cold-molded and multi-diagonal planking. Glen-L's website has a good writeup on these and will help your get a feel for what you might like to try.

Next I would look at how you prefer to power it - inboard, outboard, I/O. Some designs will accommodate several power options and other are setup just for one type. This may narrow the list a little more.

My personal opinion is long distance river cruising can be done in almost any type of boat. I have seen people traveling hundreds of miles in 100' trawlers with all the comforts of home and others making the same trip in open canoes with their clothes in trash bags. So you have to decide where your priorities are and build a boat to meet them.

I do have to add that one of the main benefits of building your own boat is getting what YOU want - not what a boat manufacturer decided to include. But what you will soon learn is for most people there is NO perfect design. Most any choice will be the result of a series of compromises. I suggest you make two lists of features: one list for MUST have features and the other is for WOULD LIKE to have features. Then use the list to guide your decision.

And don't be too apprehensive about venturing in to this whole boat building arena. Experience is not a requirement. Just keep and open mind and if you have questions don't hesitate to post them here. I know some new builders feel somewhat embarrassed about asking basic questions - DON"T BE. We have a great group of people here with lots of experience and they will be happy to help in any way possible.

Now pick a design and start making sawdust!

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So Many Rivers,
So Little Time....

Flintlocks??
I was very active in NMLRA wayyyy back when. Is Friendship, Ind still going on?

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God Bless our Troops; especially our Snipers

I'd like a Flat bottom boat for Rivers. You'd be surprised at the occasional currents that pop up under your boat. With a Keel or a bulgy Round bottom those Currents move the boat!

I'd go on some boats and watch others in Columbus MS at the Lock. And fishing on the TN river in NE Alabama, especially up close to the Dams, any boat with Depth is almost unmanageable if your not maintaining a little bit of speed. The Flat bottom boats stay in place.

Wide is better than long for living. Although some of the guys on this forum have some pretty nice boats almost in the Category of "Livaboard"